Sid Bernstein, Former Beatles Promoter, Dead at 95

The "British Invasion" of the 1960s brought many exciting young acts across the pond to the United States where they were then serenaded with the screams of rabid young girls who would have ran through a brick wall to be near them. None of those acts elicited a more intense reaction than The Beatles, who went on to become the biggest band in the world. Without the work of Sid Bernstein they may have never made it to the US, and the course of music history may have unfolded a lot differently.

Bernstein died Wednesday in New York City at the age of 95. He was instrumental to the band's immortal performance on the Ed Sullivan Show on February 9th, 1964. Three days later they played Carnegie Hall, a show that Bernstein had booked for them. He was also responsible for their concert at Shea Stadium.

According to a statement from his publicist, Bernstein once opined about his work in bringing the Fab Four to the US:

"I was just glad to get this group I had been reading about for months. It took eight months after I booked them for there to be any airplay of their records on the radio. I had to convince Carnegie Hall and my financial backers to take a chance on this then-unknown group. I had been reading about their progress in the European papers and was fascinated with the hysteria that surrounded them. I was the first to promote The Beatles in the States and Ed Sullivan called me first about them before he ever booked them on his television show."

Over the course of Bernstein's illustrious career he worked with other legendary acts such as The Rolling Stones and Frank Sinatra. He is survived by 6 children, 6 grandchildren and his wife.